Pipe bowl reamer



Nov. 15, 1938. E. w, BER R 2,136,565

P IPE BOWL REAMER Filed June 26, 1934 Patented Nov. 15, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

My invention relates to reamers for cleaning the bowls of tobacco pipes by cutting, from the interior of the pipe bowl, accumulations of cinder and similar matter. One object of my invention is to provide a device which simple and of a size and form convenient to be carried in the pocket. A second. object is to provide a tool which'will clean out a pipe bo-wl efiectually with the minimum of effort.

10 In processing my invention, I so form the outline or contour of the blade that it will substantially approximate the contour of a longitudinal cross-section of a pipe-bowl interior. Along the edges of the blade I provide a series 15 of notches evenly spaced, such that the metal between the notches is formed into a series of cutting teeth. I so arrange the teeth on one edge of the blade that they are opposite the notches on the opposite edge of the blade. I so 20 indent the face of the blade where it adjoins the corners of the teeth, that in so doing the metal is forced outward providing a top rake to the teeth and an angle between the edges and the face of the blade greater than a right-angle, thus providing a side rake to the teeth.

In the figures:

Fig. 1 shows the flat side of the reamer.

Fig. 2 is a section along line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 illustrates the reamer in use. The ream- 30 er is shown held in the hand while thrust into the bowl of a tobacco pipe and in the process of being rotated to ream the accumulation from the interior of the bowl. The pipe bowl is in section, the section being taken along-a plane passing through the center of the bowl and the center of the pipe stem.

In the figures, the shank or blade of the reamer is designated by the numeral 1, and the grip by 8. Along the edges of the blade are provided the notches 9, preferably of semi-circular contour. The formation of the notches provides the teeth ll] between them. The end ll of shank l is rounded to conform ap proximatelyto the contour of the bottom of a pipe bowl. The faces of teeth and end II are provided with indentations l2, l2.

Indentations l2, l2 are so positioned on the opposite faces of shank i that they are on the leading faces of the teeth Ill when the reamer is turned clockwise as viewed from the grip 8. Indentations l2, [2' are located just within edges. 13 of teeth Hi.

In Fig. 3, the pipe bowl is designated by the numeral I4, the stem of the pipe by l5 and the hand of the user by I6.

In the operation of the reamer, it is thrust 15 into the bowl of the pipe to be cleaned as shown in Fig. 3, and rotated while being pressed toward the bottom of the pipe bowl. The cutting edges remove the accumulation in a very few turns of the blade. The staggered relationship of the teeth avoid grooving the interior of the bowl. The general shape of the teeth and especially the sharp edges and the clearances provided by the indentations permit the reaming to be accomplished with very little effort. Since the majority of smokers prefer to permit a portion of the accumulated cinder to remain, in order to keep the pipe sweet, the reamer is made slightly smaller than the interior of the average pipe bowl.

I claim:

A pipe cleaner comprising a metal plate having the edges thereof formed with teeth, the outer free edges of the teeth being in a line defining substantially a parabolic curve, each tooth having one face thereof flat, and the opposite face thereof formed with a recess, the teeth on opposite edges of the plate having their respective recesses facing in opposite directions.

EDMUND W. ROBERTS, JR. 

